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The 'what is in this terribly bad photo?' ID request (England) (1 Viewer)

Georgebirds

Member
United Kingdom
Spurred on by the friendly tone of the 'read this before posting in the ID forum' thread, especially the line "If all you've got is a glimpse of something avian disappearing in deep cover..." , I thought I'd share what is a quite frankly terrible photo I took in a carpark in rural Norfolk last month! I'm a relatively new birder, and this might jump out as perfectly obvious to anyone more experienced, so it's worth a shot!

whatbird.JPG

I'm afraid I didn't get anything better than this! There were two of them, monotone grey on the back, white underneath, about the size of a goldfinch, possibly slightly larger. White on the tail which showed as they flew away.

And while I'm here, I wonder if you could help with any of these other bad photo birds?

plover.JPG

I think this is either a golden plover or a grey plover, in between summer and winter plumage? It just doesn't look as yellowy as the goldens in my book, but not perfectly grey either, so...help? Taken a week ago, Holme on the north Norfolk coast. Only one of them, along with a small mixed group of oystercatchers, godwits, and gulls.

whatwits.JPG

Talking of godwits - bar-tailed or black? Their tails look black, but I'm not familiar enough with these two species to recognise them, and they don't really match either illustration in my book so I'm uncertain.

whatwarbler.JPG

A cute photo but not great for ID'ing from! In the little bit of deciduous woodland alongside Roydon Common nature reserve, Norfolk. No sounds (seems to have a mouthful of food which would interfere with helpful song to recognise!) Some sort of warbler, I know, but I'm sure like many beginner birders these are one of the hardest families to learn to tell apart, and I'm not there yet.

whatami.JPG

Two very distant photos of the same bird, around sparrow sized but flew more floaty/indirect like a linnet when it left, in a water meadow beside a wood, a month ago, rural Norfolk.

whinchat.JPG

And the last one, again might be easily obvious to more experienced eyes but this little bird with a lot of leg rings has been saved unidentified on my laptop for years now - female stonechat, or whinchat? I've tried books and photos and still can't really tell which it's most like. Norfolk coast, scrubby rough ground, inland from Snettisham beach.

Thank you for taking the time to look, apologies for the awful pictures, and any ID for any of these would be gratefully received!
 
Hello,

welcome to Birdforum from me too!

I agree with Indobirder about all four birds.

The forth is difficult for me. Do you have more pictures? Three quite different species came into my mind: Chiffchaff, Common Redstart and Garden Warbler. And then I was puzzled, as they are quite different species.
Its no Garden Wabler imo by gut feeling and spindley, blackish legs. And I would expect a Redstart to show a brighter, dark orange tail in such an appearant backlit situation (and the tail seems not full enough??? Yes, this came into my mind).
So I think its a pitfall picture of a Chiffchaff. But what about the position of the eyes and they appear unnatural large and round to me. This distracts me from a Chiffchaff and made me think of a Flycatcher. I am still puzzled...
I hope for more pictures and comments. Thanks!

The last is a scruffy adult female Stonechat. Please note the compact rounded "Chat" body and the (exact hue of the) dark orangey breast. This is nearly enough to identify this species against other common birds.
 
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Thank you all for IDing my hiding Lesser Whitethroat, confirming the right plover and godwit, and also the Stonechat - I find the males easier than females and juveniles, but now I know what to look for.

The other photos of the warbler, both with intruding blurs of yellowy-green from shooting upwards through the birch leaves, the bird itself wasn't that vibrantly coloured. Leg colour showing nicely in the last pic.

whatami1.JPG

whatami.JPG
 
Thank you all for IDing my hiding Lesser Whitethroat, confirming the right plover and godwit, and also the Stonechat - I find the males easier than females and juveniles, but now I know what to look for.

The other photos of the warbler, both with intruding blurs of yellowy-green from shooting upwards through the birch leaves, the bird itself wasn't that vibrantly coloured. Leg colour showing nicely in the last pic.

View attachment 1516236

View attachment 1516237
Unfortunately shots from below of the Willow/Chiff don't show the diagnostic primary projection and leg colour is not a clincher.

RB
 

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